What is fathering? And why should we be so concerned about its relation to child outcomes?

Fathers were often assumed to be on the periphery of children’s lives and of little direct importance to children’s development. Since the mid-1980s, however, the role of ‘father’s involvement’ has been one of the major themes in child developmental research and the focus has evolved from describing what fathers do, to discussing what they shoulddo with their children.

Eirini Flouri combines an analysis of the international literature with her own unique studies that observe the long-term effects of fathering on child development. The findings of this major research programme relate to important domains in children’s lives, such as mental health, educational achievement and quality of later life relationships. Those who work to improve children’s well-being will also find chapters devoted to key issues such as children with non-resident fathers and adolescents with aggressive behaviour.

"This book by a distinguished Oxford scholar presents the scientific case for the importance of father involvement for child development and adjustment in later life. It should be read by all professionals, researchers, and policy makers concerned with child health, education and welfare."Dr Alan Carr, Director of the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Psychology, University College Dublin

"...highly informative..." (Infant and Child Development, Dec 05)

Written by internationally respected expert Eirini Flouri and based on original research into the effects that different styles of fathering can have on children, Fathering and Child Outcomes presents the state of the art on fathering and its determinants. Flouri explores evidence for the long and short term outcomes of involved fathering on different domains of children's lives, including academic achievement, mental health, socio-economic status, adolescent relationships, and delinquency.

Over the last twenty years it has become recognized that fathers play a crucial role in child development and subsequent adult status and behaviour. This book presents the state-of-the-art on fathering and its determinants. Based on original research into the effects that different styles of fathering can have on children, it explores the long and short terms outcomes of involved fathering on different domains of childrens lives, including academic achievement, mental health, socio-economic status, adolescent relationships and delinquency.

Dr. Eirini Flouri is Deputy Director of the Centre for Research into Parenting and Children, University of Oxford, and Lecturer in Statistics, St. Hilda's College. Her main research area has been, broadly speaking, life-course development, and more specifically parenting (looking at fathering, in particular, since 2000) and child development in the long term. She has published in the area of economic psychology and especially economic socialisation and consumer values, children's resilience and recovery from emotional and behavioral problems, and children's outcomes associated with father involvement.